To Live Without You
by incense
Summary: How Bra copes with the loss of Goten... Not exactly for the happy people of the world.


Not exactly a very happy fic, but ok. Tell me what you think.  
  
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"Hi people! Hey Trunks! Wanna get in a good spar this morning? I know how soft you've become." Smirking, Bra poked her brother in the stomach. Trunks turned his head and glared sadly at his little sister.  
  
"Bra... You know Goten died last night. Now I don't know how you felt about him, but he was my best friend. I thought at least you thought of him as a friend." Trunks growled. Bra hopped around the kitchen and began to clean frantically, pretending to not be aware of the fact that Goten had been driving and a drunk driver had hit him; and a metal pole went right through his temple.  
  
"He's dead, so? People die every day. He'll be fine - he is with Goku, his father. Be happy for him. It's the first time he's really gotten know his father. Now come on! Let's spar!" The blue-haired 17-year-old continued her energy-fest. Trunks had to blink back tears when Bra's hyperactive-carelessness reminded him of his former best friend.  
  
"You never used to be this energetic... Especially NOT at 7am. What's going on with you?"  
  
"Nothing." Bra said a little too quickly. She grinned and spoke again. "I'm just embracing life!" She waited for a response, but Trunks was too sad. He looked as though a bulldozer had hit him.  
  
Bra rushed off to Pan's apartment to see if she wanted to spar.  
  
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A tear-stained face greeted Bra. The young woman shot Pan a sympathetic smile, but then immediately had an energy-rush.  
  
"So Pan, wanna spar?"  
  
"Not really..." Pan said sadly. She led Bra in and plopped herself down on her beige couch. Bra saw what a mess Pan's sink was, and decided that she would clean that; as well as the rest of the little cove of a kitchen. The raven-haired 18-year-old didn't even seem to notice.  
  
Once Bra was done with the kitchen, she decided to dust the rest of the apartment. She was at top speed when something caught her eye. It was a shiny, glittering silver square. The blue-haired teen halted for a moment and gently traced the edge of it. She bit her lip and glared at it with malice and hatred in her sparkling blue eyes. A sudden `SLAM' made Pan jump, and she saw Bra dart out the door as quick as possible.  
  
Pan cocked an eyebrow in curiosity and strode over to see what it was Bra was so upset over. On her mahogany desk was an upside-down picture frame. A tear trickled down Pan's cheek; she didn't even have to flip it over to know what it was of. Pan felt as though she was frozen in place. Her misery was replaced with anguish.  
  
"Goten..."  
  
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When Bra arrived home, she was still high as a kite. However, much to her dismay, Trunks stopped her before she could enter the foyer.  
  
"What is it Trunks?"  
  
"I just got off the phone with Pan."  
  
"Yeah? So?"  
  
"You're hurt much more than you let on." Trunks stated as he came toward her to pull her into an embrace, but Bra stopped him.  
  
"By Goten? No way. I wasn't even really friends with him. Sure it's sad and I feel bad for you and Pan, but why should it effect me?"  
  
"Because he was as much apart of your life as we all are. It's ok to cry, Bra."  
  
"I know it's ok, but I'm not sad. I can't just make myself upset because it's the decent thing to do. I can't control how something will and won't affect me. I'm sorry if I seem like a monster because I can't make myself care that Goten is dead, but that's just the way life is, deal with it." She gave a small smile. But it wasn't enough. She knew she wouldn't last. In the blink of an eye she had shot off into the sky.  
  
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Bra sat in one of the trees on the top of a mountain she had passed by in her flight. Her long legs dangled and she gripped the branch for dear life. She had remembered when she was younger and Trunks, Goten, Pan, and Ubuu had tried to teach her and Marron to climb a tree. Bra had always been afraid that the branch would just snap and she'd go tumbling to the ground, too shocked to remember how to fly.  
  
But that had been a long time ago. He had stopped paying attention to her after that. Yet still, despite the neglect, she had felt fond toward him. But NO, he had left her before she could say anything.  
  
"I hate you Goten." She growled murderously. "How dare you! Trunks needs you! Pan needs you! How could you break her heart like that? You're her uncle! She needs you damnit!" Bra bellowed to the empty forest.  
  
"She needs me, or you need me?" The interrupting voice made Bra jump. She started to fall backwards, but a pair of strong arms caught her.  
  
"Whoa there." He laughed. Bra knew who it was and frowned.  
  
"I didn't expect you to answer." She murmered.  
  
"What's going on, Bra? You're not acting like yourself."  
  
"What are you doing here?" She replied, purposely avoiding his question.  
  
"Dad pulled a few strings so I could come visit you. I only have a short while, though." Bra glared at him.  
  
"Don't let me waste your precious time."  
  
"That's not fair, Bra. I wanted to die as much as you wanted me to."  
  
"You wanted to die that much?" She mocked.  
  
"Kami forbid we were worried about you...You've never been this mean before..."  
  
"Since when do you know what I'm like? The most you ever said to me until recently was `Hi', and that's only because you were in MY house visiting MY brother and it was the POLITE thing to do. You don't give a damn. You never have. You were always too busy with Trunks, Pan, Paris..."  
  
"So THAT'S what this is about."  
  
"No, THIS is about the fact that you're a self-centered prick who DESERVED what you got." Bra jumped off the tree branch and glided to the ground. Goten followed and landed behind her gently. "I admit, that was out of line. But really, it's not about that, so you might as well forget it. Tell Goku I appreciate that he's worried about me, but I'll be fine."  
  
"What about me?" Bra spun around and levitated so she could be face to face with Goten.  
  
"What about you? Can you honestly look me in the eye and tell me it was your idea for you to come down here and see me?" Her sparkling blue eyes penetrated his, almost searching for an answer. Goten couldn't answer; his breath had been taken away.  
  
"That's what I thought." She lowered herself to the ground and began to walk away, but stopped herself for a moment. She turned back to face him, and a solitary tear fell from her eye. Bra smiled sadly and shook her head slightly. Goten could feel his heart being practically ripped in half by her gaze.  
  
"I cared about you so much. I would've done anything for you. I would've gone to the ends of the world to make sure you were happy. But you didn't even notice I existed. I was just the interference known as your best friend's little sister." Her lip began to quiver. She covered her mouth in an attempt to not cry.  
  
"I'm so sorry, Bra... I never knew."  
  
"Would it really have mattered?" Her once beautiful blue eyes were now brimmed with water. "Tell me." She said a little more forcefully. Her voice was now shaky and she had to choke back a sob. Goten stared at the ground in regret.  
  
"I have to go, Bra."  
  
"That's what I thought." She hesitated. "And no matter how much I want to hate you for this, I can't." Goten took a step forward and pulled Bra into a strong embrace. His agile fingers threaded through her stringy blue hair as she relaxed and cried into his shoulder.  
  
"I'm so sorry." He apologized into her ear. The hairs on Bra's neck stood on end as his breath trickled over her. It only made her cry harder - knowing that she would never feel his strong arms around her ever again. Knowing she would never smell his cheap cologne. Just knowing that she could never see him again was enough to make her heart shatter into a thousand little pieces.  
  
"I don't want to live without you. I don't want to face reality."  
  
"I can't stay, Bra. I'm so sorry." Before he could comprehend what he was doing, Goten bent down to the little female in his arms and gently pressed his lips to hers. Dread spread through every inch of his body as she sobbed into his mouth. Bra clinched her eyes even tighter together as the atmosphere around her suddenly became lighter. She knew he was gone.  
  
Her knees gave out and she cried hysterically into the muddy ground beneath her. It wasn't fair. 


End file.
